1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a modular personal container that includes a soft container and a correspondingly shaped stiff container. More particularly, the invention relates to a personal container having a soft container that is configured to be ergonomically and self-supportedly carried at a person""s waist area and having the stiff container configured to receive and support the soft container when it is not carried by the person.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Personal containers are available in various configurations adapted to suit specific tasks. For example, a prior art personal container may be configured to be carried at a person""s waist area. Such containers are commonly known as tool belts that may have enlarged bag and/or pocked like structures integrated into a belt. The enlarged structures may be shaped to receive, organize and/or store, for example, hand tools or other items. Tool belts are usually shaped to be worn around the waist area with the enlarged structure hanging down and being supported by the person""s hip such that the stored items can be ergonomically accessed on an ongoing base.
Tool belts are commonly made of soft material in order to provide a clinging fit and to adjust to a hip shape and hip movements of the person wearing the tool belt. Also, in order to provide easy access to the stored items, the storing features are preferably designed with openings against the direction of gravity for a sufficiently upright wearing position of the person.
Unfortunately, once a tool belt is taken off, it does not maintain it""s shape, which makes it eventually difficult to put it away or store the tool belt while it is not worn. The softer a tool belt is configured, the more wearing comfort it provides but the less feasible it becomes to be stored at a locations other then a persons waist/hip area. Therefore, there exists a need for a device that has a stiff shape corresponding to the shape of a soft personal container such that the soft personal container can be properly stored while not used. The present invention addresses this need.
Personal containers may also be simultaneously used for diverse transportation and storage tasks. Many practical endeavors require a significant load being carried over a longer distance to an activity site. Once the activity site is reached, only a part of the carried load has to remain immediately accessible, whereas a remaining portion of the carried load only needs to be accessed occasionally. An immediately accessible container may be a soft container as described in the above. In order to provide occasionally accessed storage space, a second stiff container is commonly carried to the activity site.
Since tool belts commonly hamper walking, a person may tend to carry the tool belt and the stiff container simultaneously, one in each hand, which reduces the person""s agility. During unsafe walks to activity site like, for example, a construction site, it may be necessary to have at least one hand free. Therefore, there exists a need for a soft container and a correspondingly shaped stiff container such that they can be assembled and carried along one body side as a single unit. The present invention addresses this need.
In accordance with the present invention, a modular personal container provides a soft container preferably configured to be ergonomically worn at a hip area of a person. The ergonomic configuration includes a softness and a tailored contour that provide a clinging fit to the person""s hip area. The modular personal container further provides a stiff container that is shaped to receive and support the soft container on the circumference of the stiff container. The stiff container provides fixating features and positioning features that correspond to features of the soft container such that the soft container can be easily lowered down and fixated on the stiff container. Fixating features may include catch and/or snap fittings correspondingly placed on both containers. This allows the soft container to be interlocked with a simple two-hand motion. Once the two containers are interlocked, the soft container may be further lowered down onto the stiff container until the positioning features contact correspondingly tailored edges of the soft container. Once the soft container is fixated onto the stiff container a shoulder belt may be snapped on lugs of both containers.
The stiff container may have a circumference that is significantly smaller than a person""s waist. Consequently, a remaining hip belt of the soft container may be folded into a correspondingly shaped belt pocket after the soft container has been attached to the stiff container.
A central storage volume of the stiff container remains accessible via a top lid. The soft container has an upper tailor line that is shaped such that a locking feature of the top lid, for example a zip, remains accessible while the soft container is fixated on the stiff container. The stiff container may further have a handgrip. At the handgrip, the stiff container may be carried alone or together with the eventually attached soft container. The shoulder belt may also be independently used to carry only one of the two containers.